Dust tight casing for cleaning dust mops



Dec. 2, 1952 B. B. SMITH DUST TIGHT CASING FOR CLEANING DUST MOPS Filed May 11, 1948 Patented Dec. 2, 1952 vUNITED DUST TIGHT CASING FOR CLEANING DUST MOPSV Bertha B. smith, south orange, N. J.

Application May 11, 1948, SerialNo. 26,310A

9 Claims.

populated areas but is a violation of the sanitary code of many cities, towns and other large settlements.

To avoid the necessity of resorting to such practice, the present invention is designed to enable a dust mop to be conveniently and thoroughly cleaned indoors and the dust coniined against escape and collected in a portable receptacle for disposal from time to time, as occasion may require.

An embodiment of the invention at present preferred, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understood that no limitations are intended by this showing other than are imposed by the appended claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a view'in front elevation, partly in section, of the cleaner.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section,

thereof.

Fig. 3 is a detail View on an enlarged scale showing the cam-action catch employed.

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view on the line 54,54 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional` view of a modified form of my invention. y

Referring now to the drawings, 3 indicates an outer casing or body of suitable size, form and material forming a lower portion I coacting with an upper portion 2l which is separable from and hinged to the body 3, as indicated at 2a, to serve as a top closure or cover for the casing. The upper portion 2 constitutes a chambered top portion across which a yielding sidewall formed `by resilient bands I4 extends, as will be pointed outhereinafter in more detail.

When the cover is swung upward on its hinged supports, itopens the casing for the entrance therein of the dust-laden end of a mop 4 and also gives access to the interior. The hinges 2a are preferablyv of a conventional form that limits the opening movement of the cover and yieldingly holds it in open position.

A central opening 5 is formed in the meeting edges of the cover 2 and body 3 of the casing,

-through which the handle Ila projects when a mop is entered inthe casing. The diameter of the opening is made large enough to accommodate all standard mop handles.

In the upper portion of the body 3 of the casing, a beater 6 of skeleton cylindrical form is rotatably mounted in engaging relation to the mop head therein. Bearings for the cylindrical beater are indicated at 6a and a shaft 1, projecting through an opening in the casing, terminates in a khand crank 8, for rotating the beater.

While any suitable form of beater may be used, the construction shown is preferred, which consists ofvend disks 9, 9, connected by heavy gauge wires or rods I0 secured, equally spaced about the periphery of the disks. The wiresJ or rods IIJ serve as the beater elements and may be given the undulating form shown or any other form that may be preferred. Y

Arranged as described, rotation of the beater causes the mop head to be successively engaged by the beater elements with sui'licient force to detach the accumulated dust particles, which iloat about within the casing for a time land gradually settle downward.

Within the casing below the beater, a hopperlike formation II is provided, that extends from the side Walls of the casing, inclining downward to a central discharge opening I2. The converging walls of the hopper are sufficiently inclined to prevent deposit and accumulation of dust particles thereon and are of material aid in directing movement of the dust toward the central discharge opening.

At or near the bottom of the casing, there is a portable receptacle I3, in which the dust delivered by the hopper, is deposited. The receptacle is in the form of a drawer, which is removable from the casing for conveniently disposing of the accumulated dust.

In order to hold the mop head against excessive vibration or up and down movement, under the action of the beater, it is yieldingly held, when the upper portion cover 2 is closed, pressed down iny engagement with the beater, by spaced apart bands of rubber III, or spiral springs Illa, stretched across from side to side within the cover.

The mop handle is also yieldingly held against such movement by being clamped between upper and lower members I5 and I6 of a supporting means. The lower member I6 is rigid, unyielding and in the form of two parts I'I and I8, secured to the body of the casing in spaced apart relation, to provide a broad support for the handle and mop. The part I'I is riveted or otherwise secured to the wall of the casing, exteriorly thereof and the part I8 is bracketed to the wall within the casing. They are each provided with an upwardly opening V-shaped notch I9, proportioned to receive any standard diameter of mop handle Vand hold it centered relative to the opening 5 in the meeting edges of the cover andbcdy of the casing.

The upper member I5 of the handle-supporting means is in the form of a block of compressible material, preferably rubber, which is secured to the cover within the casing and positioned to engage the mop handle between the points of support provided by the parts II and I8 of the lower member.

The closing ofthe cover is utilized and serves to move the upper member I5 of the supportaelacefi 3 ing means, that is, the block of rubber, into engaging relation with the mop handle and to compress the rubber sufficiently to hold the handle firmly in the V-shaped notches of the lower parts of the supporting means.

In order to obtain suflicient compression of the rubber block to firmly hold mop handles of comparatively small diameter against unnecessary movement, the block is given such thickness that normally, or when a mop is not present in the casing, the block extends downward substantially to the full depth of the notches in the parts I1 and I8 of the lower member of the support, thus assuring ample compression of the block regardless of the diameter of the handle of the mop entered in the casing.

To prevent the cover from being forced open by the reaction of the compressed block of rubber, the cover is secured closed by a cam-action catch 20, pivoted at 2l, to the cover and movable about the pivot, by means of a handle 22, to engage a headed stud 23, projecting from a plate riveted or otherwise secured to the body of the casing. The curvature of the free end 24 of the catch is such that its frictional hold on the stud is increased as the catch is given increased movement, clockwise, about its pivot, to hold the cover down in tightly closed relation on the body of the casing.

As the construction, operation and many important advantages of the invention will be apparent from the foregoing, it is not deemed necessary to further describe the same.

I claim:

1. A dust mop cleaner, comprising a casing normally closed against the escape of dust, the casing being divided horizontally to provide a chambered top portion and a body portion, said top portion being hinged on one side to the body portion to give access to the interior for the entrance and removal of the head end of a mop, a rotatable beater mounted in the body of the casing in engaging relation to a mop head entered therein, a wall opening formed at the division line between the body and the free side of the hinged top of the casing of a size for accommodating mop handles, fixed non-yielding supports secured inside and outside the front wall of the body portion of casing at the aforesaid line of division and spaced apart to support a mop handle horizontally when the handle is inserted in said casing with the head contasting the beater, and yieldable means within the inside of the front of the chambered top and actuated by the same when closed to exert pressure on the dust mop handle to hold the same firmly against movement in the supports during the cleaning operation.

2. A dust mop cleaner, as dened in claim l, in which the yieldable means Within the chambered top engages and exerts pressure on the upper side of the mop handle at a point intermediate its spaced apart supports.

3. A dust mop cleaner, as defined in claim l, in which the yieldable means within the chambered top is in the form of a block of compressible resilient material suitably shaped to engage the upper side of the mop handle at a point intermediate its spaced apart supports.

4. A dust mop cleaner, as defined in claim l, in which the yieldable means within the chambered top is in the form of a block of compressible resilient material suitably shaped to engage the upper side of the mop handle at a point 4 intermediate its spaced apart supports and a cam catch for drawing the top portion downward to close the same against the body portion of the casing andl compress the material of said block.

5. A dust mop cleaner, comprising a casing normally closed against the escape of dust, the casing being divided horizontally to provide a chambered top portion and a body portion, said top portion being hinged on one side of the body portion to give access to the interior for the entrance and removal of the head end of a mop, a rotatable beater mounted in the body of the casing in engaging relation to the mop head inserted therein, a wall opening formed at the division line between the body and the free side of the hinged top of the casing of suitable size to accommodate mop handles, fixed non-yielding supports secured inside and outside the casing to the body thereof at the aforesaid line of division at the front of the casing and suitably spaced apart to support a mop handle horizontally when the handle is inserted in said casing with the head contacting the beater, and yieldable means within the chambered top portion extending laterally thereof and engaging and exerting pressure on the mop head to maintain it in engagement with the rotating beater.

6. A dust mop cleaner, as defined in claim 5, in which the yieldable means for engaging and exerting pressure on the mop head is in the form of a number of resilient elements that extend across the inside of the interior of the chambered top and are positioned to engage and yieldingly maintain the mop head in engagement with the beater when the top p0rtion of said casing is closed against the body portion of said casing.

7. A dust tight casing for cleaning dust mops comprising a casing having a hinged top formed by the upper portion thereof giving access to the interior for the entrance and removal of the head portion of a mop, the said hinged top being chambered at its front to enclose the end of the mop handle and the mop head which projects into the same when the top is closed, a yieldable block carried by the inside of said hinged top at the vfront thereof, means secured to the casing and coacting with said yieldable block for holding the handle'of the mop against movement during the cleaning of the mop head, a rotatable beater mounted within the casing in engaging relation to the mop head, the said beater being of skeleton form to permit free passage of dust through the same, a removable drawer-like receptacle at the bottom of the casing for receiving the dust particles and a hopper interposed between the beater and the receptacle for guiding and delivering the dust particles to the receptacle.

8. A dust mop cleaner, as defined in claim '7, in which the hinged top and the casing are arranged to be brought together in clamped relation about the mop handle by the closing movenient of the aforesaid hinged top and a camaction catch for locking said top in closed relation to the casing to maintain the clamping relation of the hinged top and the casing about the mop handle.

9. A dust mop cleaner, comprising a casing having upper and lower portions closed against the escape of dust, the upper portion of the casing being hinged to the lower portion of the body vthereof to open the casing for entrance therein of the dust-laden mop head of a mop handle, securing means for the mop handle comprising lower and upper parts, the lower part of the securing means being attached to the body of the casing and consisting of spaced apart members each having an upwardly opening notch therein to receive the mop handle, the upper part of the securing means being in the form of a block of yielding material carried by the hinged upper portion of the casing and compressible by the closing movement thereof to clamp the mop handle between the upper and lower parts of the securing means and a rotatable beater mounted within the lower portion of said casing in engaging relation to the mop 15 head.

BERTHA B. SMITH.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 199,880 Walker Jan. 29, 1878 1,575,733 Bernstein Mar. 9, 1926 1,606,866 Boren Nov. 15, 1926 10 1,742,612 Minkove Jan. 7, 1930 1,799,833 Swanson Apr. 7', 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 655,659 Germany Jan. 20, 1938 

